Alan Wake PC version covers costs

Remedy has to be a pretty happy with the decision to go ahead and finish the PC version of Alan Wake. Originally, as you know by now, the game was fully intended to be available for the Xbox 360 and PC platforms with Microsoft handling the publishing.

As the costs of development continued to mount and the work continued to drag on, it was decided by Microsoft (according to our sources) that Remedy would just focus on getting the Xbox 360 version out the door and the planned PC version would be canceled, at least for the time being.

Remedy decided once they had finished the Xbox 360 version for Microsoft and it was released with all of the DLC content that they would take a sizeable risk in going ahead and finishing the PC version of Alan Wake and porting all of the DLC content from the Xbox 360 over to the PC. Once finished, Remedy would self-publish the PC version and release it though Steam, with the hope that it would make at least enough money to cover the development and marketing costs of the PC version and a maybe a little extra to show a profit for the developer.

When the game was released last week, the response was much greater than they had hoped for. The Steam release of Alan Wake for the PC and the title vaulted right to number one on Steam, which was very unexpected. The best news of all is that within the first 48 hours of release Remedy had sold enough copies to pay for the rest of the development of the PC version and the associated marketing costs. The PC version of Alan Wake will turn a profit for the company.

While the PC version of Alan Wake features the same story and DLC content as offered in the Xbox 360 version, it includes an improved visual look over the Xbox 360 version by taking advantage of the power of the PC’s 3D cards. Unlike the Xbox 360 version, it also includes both The Writer and The Signal DLC packs as part of the PC bundle.